If you could travel back in time, altering your past decisions, would you? In Toshikazu Kawaguchi's novel, "Before the Coffee Gets Cold," he depicts four stories of people who were granted this power and how it affected their lives. They each have distinct stories and reasoning for wanting to travel to the past, with each wanting to interact with someone they love or dislike. The setting is an old coffee shop, and to time travel, each character must sit in the same seat in the same spot to ensure that they do it successfully.
As I continued to read the book, it begged the question, would I ever be willing to travel to the past, and what would I change? The book highlights how critical human interactions are to our society, considering everyone in the story returns to the past to see a person.
One rule for this time travel experience is to return to the present time before your coffee gets cold. This is the reasoning for the title and ensures that the people who go on this journey only stay for a limited time. This forces them to make the most of their time and accomplish what they set out to do. Another rule is that what you do in the past doesn't change the present; you can only interact with those who have been in the cafe before. The abilities of this cafe are no secret to the public, but these extensive rules prevent many from wanting to participate.
Unlike most books that revolve around time travel, "Before The Coffee Gets Cold" is not a science fiction novel, but focuses on human interactions, loss, and missed opportunities. Those who sit in the chair are desperate for one thing: closure. This magical cafe does not allow a complete do-over of someone's life but instead gives closure to the character, which they can bring to the present. All four of the stories capture the ups and downs of being a human.
I personally thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it. It taught me that you never know the last time you will ever see a person. In our reality, this time travel technology is unavailable, so it reminds me to be grateful and remember that tomorrow is never promised.
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